Alistair Speirs
The Theory of Evolution and the Corona Virus
Fascinating stuff and provides a good explanation as to where we are today, but also where we are heading, the evolution of SARS to MERS to Covid-19 is certainly only the beginning, somewhere out there is already Covid-Plus virus ready to take the battle to an even higher plain. Darwin told us 250 years ago.
Happy Hearts Indonesia: Building Schools for the Poor
NOW! Jakarta Publisher Alistair Speirs talks to Sylvia Beiwinkler about Happy Hearts Fund (HHF). Photos courtesy of Happy Hearts Fund (HHF)/NOWJAKARTA Happy Hearts Fund (HHF) was founded in 2006 by supermodel Petra Nemcova to help children affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. HHF started rebuilding schools in Yogyakarta after the devastating earthquake in 2006. In 2013, HHF launched
The Legacy Lives On: In Conversation with Rina Ciputra
Rina Ciputra shares her secrets to success. Photos courtesy of Rina Ciputra/NOWJAKARTA We went up-close and personal with Rina Ciputra as she shared the secrets of her and the Ciputra group’s success over three decades and counting. The Ciputra group has stood the test of time and is now one of the most enviable entities
Hope for the Best but Prepare for the Worst
"Hope for the Best but Prepare for the Worst." Not bad advice living in a city like Jakarta, which seems to be improving as it evolves into a world megacity, but slips quite easily and naturally into chaos as soon as difficulties arise. And here we are again, ready and prepared to cope with serious
Smart City Jakarta: The Great Challenge
Jakarta grows endlessly. When will it be a smart city, though? Photo by Gede Suhendra on Unsplash/NOWJAKARTA Nothing is impossible! But turning Jakarta into a ‘Smart City’ may be close. This is the challenge that my team have set me as we try to create the best scenarios to move forward to create “Sustainable Solutions for Indonesia” under our MVB
Tiny Steps to Solve the Traffic Disaster
Are you in this photo? Photo courtesy of unsplash.com/NOWJAKARTA In case you haven’t noticed, the traffic situation in Jakarta has worsened over the first two months of the year rather than improved. It is now as bad as I have ever seen it. There are jams, delays and diversions every day, caused by—well, everything—from floods,
Europe Union Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Vincent Piket Talks about the Future of EU-RI Relationship
H.E. Vincent Piket, EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam. Photo by Raditya Fadilla/NOWJAKARTA NOW! Jakarta met H.E. Vincent Piket, EU Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam in an exclusive interview. Please tell our readers a little about your background and career so far. Where have you served before coming to Indonesia? I joined the
Style or Substance?
This month’s issue is about ‘love’ and I will leave my young and romantic editorial team to talk about romantic love and even platonic love in its various forms, according to them! I want to talk about our love for our country. Every formal gathering here starts with a usually rousing rendition of the National
New Year – New Jakarta – New You?
With every 1st January there is always the idea that “maybe this year will be different”. We hope, dream and pray that our lives will be that bit easier or better, but what do we DO to make that happen? Somehow, we seem to let the opportunities that we want, go. Somehow, we end up
A Conversation with H.M.A. Moazzam Malik, British Ambassador to Indonesia
NOW! Jakarta spoke to the British Ambassador to Indonesia, Moazzam Malik, about the two country’s close relationship and hopes for the new government. Moazzam Malik, British Ambassador to Indonesia.Photo by Raditya Fadilla/NOW!JAKARTA As you come to the end of your tenure, can you remember the expectations you had when you first started? How do they
What is a Sustainable City?
As Jakarta struggles to rise to the challenges of becoming a modern, liveable megacity, finally putting in place an MRT—140 years behind London, but now at least started—and begins the battle with waste, flooding, slums, air pollution, traffic management and a myriad of other challenges, we ask the question: what does it actually take to
A Conversation with Madame Rachel Malik, Spouse of the British Ambassador to Indonesia
In an exclusive interview, NOW! Jakarta spoke to Rachel Malik about her role as spouse of the British Ambassador to Indonesia as well as communities that have become part of her life in Indonesia. Madame Rachel Malik, Spouse of the British Ambassador toIndonesia. Photo by Raditya Fadilla/NOW!JAKARTA How would you describe the role of the
Reinventing Jakarta: From ‘Chaos’ to ‘Character’
I love the word ‘chaos’. It has a myriad meanings but starts back in Greek and Roman mythology, where it refered to the state preceding the creation of the universe or the ‘gap’ created by the original separation of heaven and earth. In Hesiod’s “Theogony”, chaos was the first thing to exist. For him chaos
